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Upper School Life

This category contains 29 posts

A Higher Standard

By KENNY SHOLL — Last Wednesday, during the “What Every McCallie Man Should Know” program, a local attorney, Class of 1983, spoke to the seniors about what it means to turn 18 years of age from a legal standpoint. It is amazing how that one birthday changes the way the legal system responds to you even though you are no more mature at age 17 years and 364 days than you are at 17 years and 365 days…

Put Me In Coach! I’m Ready to Play… Kind Of

By ANDREW BARBER (12th Grade) – It didn’t quite go as planned. There were no screaming and adoring fans; there were no intelligent lights bouncing around the walls and ceiling of the room; there was no grand introduction with a fifteen foot inferno of red hot flames around the back entrance of the stage. Instead, the eight French-fry lights, each burning at a temperature of around 800 degrees Fahrenheit…

You Never Know Who Is Watching

By KENNY SHOLL – I witnessed three things this week that reminded me of what it means to be part of this community. Mentoring: I saw a senior walk up to a freshman and give him a “high five” for doing well on a test. It was obvious that the senior was involved, interested, and genuinely excited for the “little guy” …

The Longest Stretch

By KENNY SHOLL – I want to thank the seniors for the great work you did in helping restore the ground of Chickamauga Battlefield to its 1863 condition. It was fun helping you rake mulch, carry logs, kill privet, etc. While you certainly made a difference, the most rewarding thing for me was the positive attitude and kindred spirit you displayed…

A Thousand Blue Horns

By BOB BIRES — Only a fool would conceive the idea of selling 1,000 vuvuzelas to students for a football game in which he would have to stand in front of those students. As the advisor to McCallie’s Student Council, I am that fool…

Getting Out of the Box

By STUART CHAPIN — On the first weekend of the school year, Michael Lowry and I went with the new Outdoor Program Student Instructors for a leadership training trip. Our goal was to build a cohesive group of leaders through a challenging experience and a curriculum of decision making and experiencing consequence. Our aim was to let the boys make critical decisions…

Therefore I Row

By JOEL AVEY (12th GRADE) — Waiting for an impending trial is difficult. Every second that passes seems like an hour, every small sound makes me jump to attention. I’m at a full stage of alertness and readiness; yet I’m in a daze and oblivious to the world around me. The small line of sweat that traced my brow when we left the dock has now evolved, running down my face in streams and flooding my eyes…

Not Running On Empty

By MICHAEL ZEISER (12th Grade) – It is a difficult task to explain the reasons runners run. I started running when I was about 12 years old around the hilly roads of my neighborhood. No one ever told me to run, and I don’t even know why I started running. I just did. Looking back, I think it may have been my first form of freedom…

“I am Amazed”

By KENNY SHOLL — “I am amazed!” That was quite a speech we heard from former Headmaster, Dr. Spencer J. McCallie III. What I didn’t realize is that the founding fathers of the school were young men when they answered the call over 105 years ago to do something about the lack of formal education in the South. Dr. McCallie made two points that bear repeating…

Fighting Fire

By SAM CAMPBELL (12th Grade) – As I heard the sirens getting frighteningly closer, I couldn’t help but wonder where their final destination was. I knew that it was very strange for the quiet, usually quaint Lookout Mountain sound to be overruled by sirens, so something serious must be going on…

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